Atmosphere
by MysticalBurger
Summary: Leon was just trying to finish schoolwork and go home. He could have ignored the noises from outside. He could have easily had just walked past the boy in the tree and freezing rain. But he didn't. And it's so strange how one choice can change your life for the better or for the worse.
1. Just a Ribbon

Chapter 1:

_Just a Ribbon  
><em>

His footsteps echoed through the empty halls of the school. The bell announcing that school was over for the day had rung about an hour ago, as Leon had a test to finish and not wanting to bother to wake earlier in the morning to make up for it he decided it was better to stay after prefered school hours. Just as he was about to leave the school and head home, he had suddenly noticed the lightness of his school bag and realized he had forgotten several of his precalculus notebooks.

Yao, his older brother, would surely be angry at him when he got back. No doubt. He will go and on about how rude it is to 'keep people waiting for you.' Whatever.

He shrugged as he finally stepped in front of his locker and began turning in the code. Once placing the heavy books into his bag and slowly shutting his locker, he began walking back. He paused for a moment to pull his phone out of his pocket to see if he had any new messages. He had none. He sighed and placed it back. It wasn't until he heard light rambling and talking outside when he stopped to consider the weather conditions.

He slowed his pace and looked out the window out a nearby classroom.

Rain. The dark grey sky raged on and clouds were bustling and moving at a fast rate. This morning he even heard that there would be a light dusting of snow later tonight, so the temperature outside was probably very chilly as it was late afternoon. So why in anyone's right mind would they be outside yelling in the rain and be in near freezing temperatures?

Leon increased his steps until he entered the nearest classroom to see just what was outside. He swiftly made his way around the desks, trying not make a sound, which was utterly useless because all teachers and students were supposed to be gone by this time. Once at the window, he peered out while trying to see through the harsh spatters of rain against the cold glass. He rubbed condensation on the window with his sleeve to get a better look. What he saw made his face change into a slightly more confused one.

From his view, there was a kid placed in a very tall, very loose, and very dangerous looking oak tree. He seemed to be grabbing at something, a ribbon perhaps? The boy also seemed to be loudly negotiating with something or someone just below him. Something Leon himself could not see. He began to panic.

This kid could catch an illness like pneumonia or hurt himself, maybe even worse. It would be awful if he were to just stand here and watch it all happen right in front of him. He quickly turned around and began running out of the classroom and down the halls eventually reaching the back door leading into the park right outside the school where the mystery boy just happened to be. He made a huff right before pushing the door open. As soon as this happened cold wind and freezing rain hit his face like broken glass and he groaned in frustration. He had to at least help this kid no matter what and wind and rain wasn't going to stop him. He began to run despite the harsh weather. His bag, he decided, was too heavy to run with and quickly dropped it on the muddy soil and immediately beginning to run faster with the weight gone.

As he neared the tree he got a better view of this boy and the first thing he noticed was that he had seen him before. Though he did not ever talk or have any classes with him, he quickly recognized him. He's seen him in the library often too busy with a book to be bothered or to converse with other people. The second thing was his hair, which seemed to stand out as it was an unusual hue of pale blond or even white, but again he had seen him before so it didn't worry him. What did worry him, however was his pale skin, paler than usual. He assumed it was due to the weather.

Finally at the tree he saw that, yes, it was a ribbon he was trying to get. A white one to be more specific, and both to the boy on the branch and to Leon's surprise he caught it between his fingers and made a sound of joy. After a few seconds the boy in the tree began supposedly talking to himself and looked down in a hurry to converse with whatever invisible being he thought he had been recently talking to. Leon could only imagine the confusion that went through this guys head when he saw him at the bottom of the tree instead of whatever he was expecting to see. Because as soon as he did he gasped in shock and lost his balance, falling out of the large oak tree. Leon shut his eyes as he heard a loud *_thud* _and then a small whimper followed by a loud groan of pain.

It was then when he opened his eyes and rushed over the now pitiful looking boy. He wasn't joking. He was covered in mud, his hair was a mess, and he had a few scratches on his arm from the fall and from later inspection he saw that he even had a bloody nose, too. Other than that, he didn't see any urgent or major injuries.

"Hnn- could you maybe h-help me up, at least?" the boy groaned.

Leon had noticed he was staring and quickly began trying to help him regain balance, but he stopped when the boy let out a shriek of pain, slightly wincing. Leon slowly looked to where the other was; his ankle. Oh no.

Leon began to panic even more.

"Is it, like, broken?" he tries to swallow the cold lump that had been resting in his throat. He was having a heck of a time trying to mask his worry.

"No..." comes a reply. "I think I sprained it while falling..." he winced again when trying to move it slightly. He made a sigh of somewhat relief.

"Does, like, anything else hurt?" it was an appropriate question. You never know what else he could've been injured in a fall like that.

The boy below him moved around slightly, as though checking to see if anything else was bothered.

"My shoulder and nose kind of hurt" he said while bringing his hand to wipe the blood from his lips. "But...that's about it...other than my ankle..."

Thank goodness! He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised by how well this guy turned out to be in such good shape after such a fall. He was lucky.

Leon was shaky with his movements as he tried to pick up the boy without hurting him. Luckily, a few curses, shrieks, and complaining later he finally got a stable hold on him in an awkward bridal style fashion and began to walk. The boy was alot heavier than he seemed. All seemed to calm down until Leon heard a gasp and quickly looked down at the boy and noticed his features began to show worry.

"Ahh! T-the ribbon! Where is it!?"

Still raining, Leon looked up and began scanning the area frantically until spotting the little white ribbon not 5 inches from them. He walked over and dipped his knees so that the boy he was currently carrying could pick it up. After he did, he began heading towards the door he had used to get out of the school. While doing this, he came across his school bag, grimacing at condition it was now in; completely muddy and wet. Gross.

He carefully leaned down to pick it up, making sure not to drop the boy he was currently carrying. After he did so, he continued his walk.

Once at the door, he backed up and gave it a quick kick but still careful not to hurt anyone in the process. It didn't budge. He made a grunt and kicked again, and again, and again. He even pushed it with his free hand but it still. Wouldn't. Open. Now frustrated and wanting to get out of the rain, he finally remembered that the school doors can only open from the inside, not the outside unless you had a key.

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><p>Hi everyone! Thank you so much to the people who told me the original story was having format issues, as I had to delete it. I'm seriously thankful!<p>

You may be confused about a few things, but I assure you everything will be explained in later chapters. Also, you may want to pay attention to the color of some objects (for example: The ribbon.) All colors have different meanings and this may help you figure out mysteries and secrets later on in the story.


	2. A Cold Walk Home

Chapter 2

_A Cold Walk Home_

Though it was still chilly, the rain had fortunately stopped and was reduced to a light drizzle.

As it turns out, Emil, as he had recently told Leon his name, didn't have a key either. Thankfully, he had told him that they could walk to his house, which even though was a long 30 minute walk up a hill, was at least some place to go. They were no longer in the awkward situation of one holding the other, but rather Leon had let Emil slightly hold his arm for balance as they now walked up the steep hill leading to the other's house. They had been walking for almost 20 minutes or so, which was good because the feeling of scratchy, itchy clothes rubbing against Leon's skin was not comfortable. And judging by Emils expression and saggy, heavy looking plain white sweater and jeans, he wasn't fancying the feeling either.

The temperature wasn't being helpful at all. It was dropping and by the looks of how their breath was visible as a thin mist, it was not going to stop dropping anytime soon.

As they were just reaching a turn to yet another suburban neighborhood, Emil halted. Leon assumed he did this because he was remembering which turn to take. He noticed the boy look down and gaze almost apologetically at the white ribbon that had since been tied loosely around his right hand wrist.

"Could you try calling your brother again...?" Leon asked, breaking not only the silence between the two, but Emil's connection with the ribbon, as well. They had tried calling his 'brother' a few times, but all had ended in the same way; A voice recording telling them to either call back later or to leave a message.

"If he didn't pick up the first three times it's not likely he'll pick up the fourth time, either." Emil grumbled. He began walking again, turning towards the neighborhood and picking up the pace.

And then there was silence again. It wasn't awkward, just empty and hollow. Leon felt as though the conversation should still keep going. He thought about things to ask or tell him about. Now thinking about it, it was strange the way he found him, or met him in this case. Falling out of a tree trying to get a ribbon didn't seem likely to most, or at least to Leon. You could find ribbons everywhere, so what did that one piece matter to him? And what was with the staring?

"So, like, what's the deal with the ribbon?" he asked, pointing to the white ribbon around Emil's wrist.

He looked up from where he was looking that was the sidewalk to watch where he was stepping or in other words limping.

"Why does it matter to you?" He glared, his eyes flashing lively colors of denim and ultramarine, though still had remains of calming cerulean and amethyst. "It's none of your business and it's not important." He pouted, looking the other direction but still lightly holding on to the other's shoulder.

"So almost breaking your ankle and neck isn't what you would call 'important' then? It seems at least a little serious to me." Leon scoffed. In all honesty, he just wanted to be home. He didn't mind the reprimanding from his siblings and relatives at this point if it meant dry clothes. Emil looked at Leon, almost annoyed, and looked back down.

He didn't expect this guy to be so harsh and icy. In the few times he had seen him in the library or heading home, he actually looked very calm and collected. Though, upon meeting him he didn't expect him to be so prickly, it actually slightly surprised him.

Leon sighed and looked ahead.

"About 5 more minutes, I recognize a road ahead." Emil droned. It wasn't until the other said that had the question dawned on him. What was he going to do when they get there? Would he be let in the house and be led into an awkward conversation? What if he's invited for dinner? That would be very sketchy. He decided not to think about it until the situation came upon him.

* * *

><p>His house was rather plain. It was an average two story home with the same boring colors that consisted of certain greys, whites and light browns. Luckily for the two, there were no stairs leading to the front door, and only that of a short pathway across the front lawn. They both trudged through the dry, dead grass that crumpled with every footstep. Leon made it a point to ring the doorbell as many times as possible before Emil or low grumbling from inside the house could protest against it.<p>

He heard a lock click and saw the doorknob turn cautiously. The person on the other side left the door ajar, as if to see who it was. After a few moment, the stranger hummed and proceeded opening the door.

The man who had opened the door was quite a bit taller than Leon and Emil. Judging by the way he looked, he also seemed to be a few years older than them, too. His hair was light blonde, much like Emil's but still slightly more dark. His clothes were also similar to Emil's, consisting of weird sweaters and average pants. _Ah, so this is his 'brother', then._ He looked from Leon to Emil, glaring at their clothes, dirty faces and hair, then to Emil's injured and bruised ankle. He raised his eyebrows and clicked his tongue.

"...again?" the man almost whispered and reached an arm out towards Emil who sighed in defeat. _Wait! Did this happen often!? _He took hold of the other's hand and allowed himself to be carefully pulled into the house. He saw him take a seat in a chair close to the door.

He was about to close the door but Leon stopped it with his foot. The man, though having a completely monotone expression, gave off a confused aura. He looked up at him.

"A thanks would be, like, really nice." Leon said, imitating the other's expression. He saw the other fix what looked like a clip in his hair and then glare at him again.

"Yeah, thanks." he muttered. He swiftly turned on his heel as he shut the door.

Well, he wasn't expecting that, but at least it was easier than being invited into the house. _What a snarky guy_, Leon concluded.

He began walking home, still in very wet clothes and holding his muddy school bag. The thought of the condition his books must have been in made him shiver, and not from the weather. He felt a light vibration coming from his bag. He had completely forgotten about his phone, as he had put it in his bag long ago but now went to retrieve it. He focused sharply on the dim screen. He had 15 messages. Most were probably from Yao, the others likely from Mei asking where the computer charger was and Yong Soo sending him videos of said brother going ballistic.

He sighed deeply and quickly replied: **I'll be home soon, I was busy.** Pretty simple, but it will do for now. He didn't feel like having an argument over text.

The sky slowly began swirling together colors of dark greys, telling him it was going to be dark soon. He felt light patters of rain drop on him.

This was going to be a long walk home.

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><p>It had taken him almost an hour and a half to finally get home. His house was the exact opposite direction of Emil's house, and when he checked his phone it was almost 6:30 p.m. The sky had long since clouded over with dark colors and the rain had not stopped only until then.<p>

While opening the door, he noticed that the expected frustrated rambling was not present, but was rather replaced with calm silence; However there was some noise coming from the kitchen. He cautiously entered and quietly shut the door, hoping not to be noticed. He slowly made his way up the staircase, trying not to make a sound. Apparently he was just loud enough to get Mei, his sister, to notice him. Thankfully, she was not as loud as the others might have been, but still was a little noisy.

She was about to say something before he shushed her, signaling her to keep talking but to also be quiet while doing so. She nodded her head and looked around, Leon did the same.

"What took you so long getting home?" she whispered, ducking her head. "You're almost 3 and a half hours late..."

Leon thought for a moment, contemplating on how or what to tell her. It's not like he didn't trust her, he just didn't think she would get it.

"I _was _on my way home, I did finish the assignment and I did get my books," he looked at his poor school bag and Mei did the same, "but there was this, like, uhh... guy... and he hurt his ankle really badly and I felt like I had to, y'know, help him." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Mei, who was slowly nodding her head.

"Alright," she paused, "seems believable enough, Yao is still going to have you miss dinner, though." They both straightened up and headed back to their own rooms. He was just about to shut the door when he heard Mei call his name.

"Also, Li, you might want to change your clothes before you catch a cold or something." she said, pointing to his attire. He nodded his head and shut the door.

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

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><p><strong>Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long as it did, I got busy with all sorts of things. Other chapters might come later than this due to my priorities being a little bit...unpredictable. I'll also be writing another story soon, though, I will still update this as soon and as much as I can! You can find out when certain updates will be on my tumblr which is in my bio. ^^<strong>

**I decided to have Taiwan (Mei) call Hong Kong (Leon) by his other name (Li Xiao Chun.)**

**Have a great day/afternoon/night, everyone!**


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